The core of the geriatrics medicine fellowship curriculum is based on a combination of rotations and longitudinal experiences. Each fellow will provide geriatric care for a group of outpatients and will follow a panel of patients at the VA Community Living Center where the focus is on interdisciplinary team care planning for complex chronic disease patients. Fellows also have year-long exposure to Home Based Primary Care patients. Fellows rotate on the CLC teaching service, Inpatient Rehabilitation, Neurology, Psychiatry, Palliative Consults, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Community Geriatrics and QI/Electives. Weekly didactic conferences are provided in collaboration with the Palo Alto VA GRECC (Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center). Regular journal clubs and board reviews are also scheduled. The fellows gain administrative, teaching and presentation experience, including submitting a poster to a regional or national meeting. The program has funding for memberships, educational materials and travel to a meeting if a poster is presented.
There are 12 blocks of rotations for fellows at clinical sites which include inpatient, outpatient and nursing facility experience relevant to geriatric medicine education. Rotations and experiences include clinical care, quality improvement, team care planning, house staff teaching and academic pursuits. Fellows work with nurse practitioners, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, rehab staff, chaplains, dietitians and nurses on care planning and case management as part of an interdisciplinary team.
Didactic sessions are provided by and for fellows through the following: live and virtual presentations, webcasts and online-based educational sessions. To enrich and enhance collegiality among small fellowship programs, we offer the fellows increased exposure to other geriatric medicine fellows through a virtually shared weekly core lecture with Stanford University's GRECC and their fellows. The VA is a rich source of nationally acclaimed speakers that offer monthly research conferences through our live audio teleconferencing systems. Didactics are designed to fit different learning styles with both structured lectures and more informal activities. The fellowship program offers frequent close mentoring and collaborative opportunities with geriatrics and HPM certified faculty to achieve clinical and academic growth.
